Joao Mario: “When I Switched From Sporting To Inter, I Immediately Understood Everything Was Different In Italy”

In an interview with Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Inter midfielder Joao Mario has spoken on his experiences with Italian football.

“In Serie A, if you do not know tactics and train hard, you do not play. In Italy, even if you are not skilled on the ball, you can find space in the team if you train tactically and run a lot,” the Portuguese international, who is currently out on loan at Lokomotiv Moscow, explained.

“I can say for example that when I switched from Sporting to Inter, I immediately understood that everything was different there.

“I improved, even if in the end I was not satisfied with the Italian league. For three years I tried to carve out my space, but I did not succeed.”

He concluded: “I realised that my mentality and my ideas about football, did not allow me to adapt to Italy. I did gain experience, even if Italy was a bad experience overall for me.”